Where I Am

Add email for notification of New Books Only:
This email address will not be used for any other purpose, nor sold. For more
interaction than new book notifications, please "Like" the Facebook page
H.E.R.O. Superhero Novels by clicking here.

What is H.E.R.O.?

It's a series of novels about the superheroes of Metrocity. You get all the great benefits of a novel - the dialog, thought process, quirks,
interpersonal relationships and so on, plus all the action of a comic book (without the pictures).

However, I've also created many of the characters in 3D art and put them
on my website here, as well as on the official Facebook page. I had to make them for the covers anyway, so I'm sharing my
visuals with all of you (on the H.E.R.O. button at the top).

I hope you give the novels a try. I think you'll find that if you like superheroes, you'll enjoy the H.E.R.O. series. (The bottom of this page has the first book.)

Don't have a Kindle or Nook? They have free programs to read on tablets, PCs, and phones too (links below here)! Smashwords is great for offering many formats, too.

Note: While these are a series, each is a stand-alone novel. You aren't required to buy the entire list to get a complete story. However, they work much like a TV series, and gain more and more depth as you go....

Note: If you don't own a Kindle or Nook, there are FREE apps for nearly all phones/tablets/computers - I have links on the lower right of this page to the FREE apps. Amazon is quirky in that you need to either own a Kindle or have their app installed on at least one device before you can buy Kindle books, but it's worth it (and free)!

Other novels by Kevin Rau:

Necromancer's Ascent

H.E.R.O. - Lashback

Nightmonger snaps under the pressure placed by the heroes over the previous week, as they
dismantled several of his drug operations, chop shops, the supervillain lair at the Portia
Hotel, and the destruction of his brothel at the hands of Lady Rapture's people. He decides to
send a message to the heroes of the city to back off ... by killing them. Numerous major battles
occur between the heroes and villains as his new supervillain, Nuker, gains in power.

The new band of human wanna-be heroes, Brighthorn and company, investigates the "superhero lair"
mentioned by Diva and Sharae at Blacklight. It starts a chain of events where the men arm
themselves against the mutants and continue their investigation into the death of the woman in
the Anarchist zone.

H.E.R.O. - Lashback is the 22nd book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action- packed, full-length written novel of over 104,000 words.

The Ironsite cybernetic mercenaries go back after the escaped aliens and cross paths with the heroes. In the wake of the numerous murders by the group, the heroes actively seek to confront the enhanced humans.

A low-rung thug in Nightmonger's operation is symbiotically merged with a creature created by Rayna. His powers grow, and he becomes a person to be reckoned with in Nightmonger's forces.

A group of men decide to join the swelling ranks of heroes in Metrocity ... but these men have no powers, and are not supers. They slowly learn why super is part of the term "superhero."

Rayna creates a new pet, but its personality doesn't mesh well with the other pets.

H.E.R.O. - Cyberhunt is the 21st book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action- packed, full-length written novel of over 107,000 words.

Borgz searches for the criminals that invaded his starship and kidnapped his alien engineer, Arga'kor.

Nightmonger's crew acquires an alien starship weapon and seeks a power source for it, while also setting up a plan to distract the heroes and to
allow them to free some of their imprisoned allies.

An attempt to close one of the "portals" to the dark energy universe has unintended consequences, and puts the heroes in a race to find a means to
stop something released from that dimension.

Blake, Metrocity's resident "Master Mage," becomes involved in a series of conflicts with the Goths and Gene Front, and finds a means to put some
leverage on the heroes who are regularly "assaulting him."

H.E.R.O. - Bio-Organism is the 19th book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action-
packed, full-length written novel of over 105,000 words.

The Air Force finds themselves under assault in Metrocity as they unearth the crashed remains of the Dyar'thon, the Kurcet
starship brought down in a starship battle a week before. Robots, aliens, and supervillains all descend on the area as they
try to acquire or steal weapons and resources of value.

Borgz finds himself among the attackers. Ever opportunistic, the bodiless being acquires new and powerful weapons, gains
allies, and then must contend with other supervillains as they attempt to wrest control of his ill-gotten gains from him.

All the while, an unknown force of powerful armed and armored figures assault the military, prison, and villains alike to
take ... or recover ... aliens remaining in the city.

The heroes must find out who this force is and stop them before they abscond with one of their own, while also dealing with
two sets of villains set on accomplishing their own goals.

H.E.R.O. - Summoned is the 18th book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action-
packed, full-length written novel of over 102,000 words.

The influence of the Kurcet can still be felt in Metrocity as a group of men find an alien artifact and turn on a group of mutants that stumble across them. More mutants become involved, as do the heroes, in an attempt to stop these new dangers to the city.

A void in drug trafficking by an unknown source has attracted the interest of the Guerreros del Toro, a drug cartel interested in expanding operations in the city. The heroes cross paths with several groups of the cartel before they can hunt down the primary base of the new group.

Nightmonger's entourage, desperate to add villains to their depleted ranks, kidnap Dierdre to force her to work for them. It has unintended consequences for the crime organization as the heroes chase after information leading to the flying fae mutant.

It is an action-packed, full-length written novel of nearly 100,000 words.

Nightmonger and his lackeys prevent H.E.R.O. from imprisoning the fire elemental super, Carey, and force her to work for them. The girl's life goes from bad to worse, and there may be no escape.

Sparks recovers from the assault by the assassins, only to discover that one survived. Her hunt for the man causes her to team up with Psystar and Diva as they go after the hit man.

Blake, Metrocity's paranoid "master mage," tries to open a portal, and in the process discovers creatures from the dark energy universe that come through. He crosses paths with Nightmonger, Lady
Nocturne, H.E.R.O., and finally makes a powerful ally. Blake's friends from Chicago join him, and he attempts to gain followers.

Chrome's life takes a turn for the better as she meets a man and goes on a date.

H.E.R.O. - Riftguard is the 16th book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action-packed, full-length written novel of over 103,000 words.

Carey finds herself caught in Lady Nocturne's web, and shares information about Ironsite Security's involvement in the mutant attack at the Barrett factory days before. Naryx calls in people to raise Gene Front's talon once more, and the mutant group seeks out explosives, and then plans an attack on the research company.

Spectral Warden, the star quarterback of the University of Metrocity's football team, takes to the streets as a new hero. He crosses paths with Psystar, Diva, Gene Front, and has a fight with Carey that cuts off her one chance to escape Gene Front.

Jacob Davis, the owner of a large private animal reserve and hunting ground to the south of Metrocity, hires a team of assassins to exact revenge upon Sparks. The gunslinger is forced to fight for her life numerous times as she wards off criminals and mutants, and all the while attempts to find the parts and people necessary to save her friend Jazz's life.

Blake takes the first steps on setting up his power base, and the heroes discover what happened to Firebane in the Dark Breach.

H.E.R.O. - Battlefronts is the 15th book in the most extensive superhero novel series of the last decade. It is an action-packed, full-length written novel of over 115,000 words.

Nightmonger, a crime boss in Metrocity, stumbles upon an alien drug after the starship battle between the Gahranii and the Kurcet. He puts his drug lab to work crafting a new designer drug, and releases it for testing in the clubs of the city. Due to the actions of his people, a creature formerly held captive by the Kurcet breaks free and tears through the city.

Celestia begins to learn the basics of being part of the Goth mutant "kingdom." She becomes involved with Nightmonger's agent as he distributes the drug at Blacklight. The Ladies of the Goths take offense to the interference by a crime boss dealing in their territory and strike back.

Borgz discovers a signal emitted by the alien creature's containment unit, and wreaks havoc with Nightmonger's people and the heroes as he returns to Metrocity.

H.E.R.O. - Nightmonger continues the ongoing saga of the superheroes of Metrocity. Many of the heroes, such as Psystar, Diva, Spartan, Black Tiger, Razorwing, Rayna, Duff, and more return to action in this action-packed, full-length novel of over 102,000 words.

Following on the heels of H.E.R.O. - Malice, Carey and Ironsite Security's experiment has unexpected results. A virus has been let loose on the super population, as has a mysterious energy rift near the center of Metrocity. Supers find themselves mutating further, with some powers enhanced and others reduced. The heroes become absorbed in an attempt to determine what occurred.

Carey becomes a victim of her own experiment as she mutates into a super - a fire elemental. She goes through her own challenges as Ironsite Security covers their tracks. Another person arrives in Metrocity with powers outside the norm for supers. Not a super himself, Drake finds that the experiment caused a breach into the Dark Energy universe, and is able to directly manipulate the energy that gives supers their powers, but for how long? He takes a dark path in an attempt to stabilize and grow the powers at his command.

The book continues the H.E.R.O. novel series with detailed viewpoints from the characters in the story as they deal with issues at a personal level while attempting to maintain some semblance of normal lives.

H.E.R.O. - Dark Breach is the 13th book of the ongoing H.E.R.O. series, and is approximately 108,000 words long.

Celestia, a new super from Rikesville, travels to Metrocity as she is lured by her interest in the Goth-like Razorwing. She becomes entangled in an attempt to capture and eliminate the powers of supers by a group of cybernetic soldiers.

Sparks is given a lead on a new bounty - one of the Goth mutants in Metrocity named Sharae. Black Tiger becomes involved, as do many of the heroes from the H.E.R.O. series as war breaks out between the cybernetic mercenaries and the Goths. In the midst of the action, Razorwing unveils the Overlook, his new command center for a group of the H.E.R.O. agents he has found to be group-friendly.

H.E.R.O. - Malice is the 12th book of the ongoing H.E.R.O. series, and is approximately 103,000 words long.

In a world of magic and monsters, where the elements provide balance to the world, an enclave of
necromancers opens a rift into the realm of death, the plane of elemental energy where they derive
their power.

Their actions spread death through the region, and upset the balance between the elements.
Adventurers must find a way to stop the effects of the rift, and save the realm from being overrun by
the dead.

Necromancer's Ascent is the first action-packed adventure set in the fantasy world of Dur.

Buy (or download free preview) e-book for $4.99 US on
Amazon (Kindle).
The book is also available to borrow for free for members of Amazon's Prime subscription.
Paperback for $12.99 US on Createspace.

H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum

Dolldrum has been lurking out of sight in Metrocity for a year. With the recent events of the Hordemaker and greater visibility of the Goth mutants, he stumbles on the means to
launch his greatest scheme yet, and bring his doll empire to new heights. The H.E.R.O. agents of Metrocity become intertwined with the plans of the villain, and seek to stop him
before he gains enough power to become unstoppable.

H.E.R.O. - Dolldrum is the 11th book of the ongoing H.E.R.O. series, and is approximately 106,000 words long. With this addition to the series, the H.E.R.O. novels
now have over 1 million words of superhero action!

The Gahranii send an envoy to Earth in search of its leaders. Borgz, ever in search of new bodies and weaponry, stumbles across an alien probe in one of the asteroids near Earth. He accidentally sets off a signal
to the owners, who come to the solar system to scout why an ancient probe of theirs is now active. Finding an enemy species, the starships fight, and the hostile alien vessel speeds to Metrocity in an effort to
head off negotiations between species. This sets off an incursion of aliens in Metrocity, and the heroes are caught in the middle.

Sparks helps, thinking one of the starships is the pirate vessel holding a friend of hers, and ends up working with one of the groups of aliens in an attack on the other ship to retrieve her friend.

Unwilling heroes aid in the defense of the city, and heroes die. It's a rough night as heroes find some of the aliens to be more powerful than anything they've seen to this point.

Gene Front, a super mutant group that desires to keep superpowers in the hands of supers, and out of the hands of humans. The group hires the supervillain Winterfury to
kidnap University professors leading a class in the midst of examining supers and how their bodies and powers work. The situation becomes convoluted for the
heroes of Metrocity as Borgz becomes involved, as does Neon, a new super who plays havoc with some of the heroines of the city.

The superheroines of Metrocity have their second gathering, which is repeatedly interrupted by other heroes, villains, a kidnapping, mental takeover, and a
revelation to Psystar.

In the midst of the chaos, can the heroes find and stop Gene Front as they plan an all-out assault on a research firm in Metrocity? The bounty hunter Sparks
also plays a role as heroes and villains collide.

H.E.R.O. - Gene Front is a full-length novel of approximately 105,000 words.

A day in the life of a superheroine. We follow Silverlash as she encounters petty criminals attempting to rob an ATM and others at a weapons shop. She meets with
Metrocity's demonic knight hero, Razorwing at the scene of Metrocity's recent major averted disaster, and gets together with several other heroes (Impact, Psycom) as
well as some of the non-hero supers over lunch.

This is a short story set in the H.E.R.O. superhero universe. The story stands alone, but "officially" fits in between H.E.R.O. Shorts - Gatecrasher, and
H.E.R.O. - Gene Front in the most extensive superhero book series of the decade.

The short story includes four images of the heroes created solely for this book. The story is approximately 11,500 words long.

The H.E.R.O. Shorts line of short stories "plug in" to the H.E.R.O. universe of novels. Officially, H.E.R.O. Shorts - Silverlash occurs after H.E.R.O. - Gatecrasher,
but the story stands on its own, and can serve as a low-cost introduction to the world of H.E.R.O.

After losing his left arm in a fight he barely survives against three mutants, Gatecrasher decides to take a vacation from being a superhero in Metrocity.
He heads to the Rocky Mountains to train the first known dogs with superpowers.

He is called to aid another superhero who has disappeared while she was attempting to find a missing television production crew in the forest. There,
he meets a bounty hunter named Sparks, and a cannibalistic mutant on the prowl....

The H.E.R.O. Shorts line of short stories "plug in" to the H.E.R.O. universe of novels. Officially, H.E.R.O. Shorts - Gatecrasher occurs after H.E.R.O. - Paragon,
but the story stands on its own, and can serve as a low-cost introduction to the world of H.E.R.O.

Get an illustrated, behind-the-scenes look at the H.E.R.O. series of novels, the characters, and Metrocity! This book contains full-color,
unbelievably detailed images of 31 of the characters of the series, 6 group pictures, and overall contains nearly 200 pages of information on
the supers, the universe, Metrocity's major locations, the Homeland Extraordinary Response Organization (H.E.R.O.), plus 57 major characters
and 78 minor characters.

For those interested in the H.E.R.O. series, you'll get a down-to-earth discussion from the author on the characters, their capabilities,
personality, background, and reason behind the creation of many major characters. You'll also find information about the series from a behind-the-scenes
viewpoint, with information not released or shown in any of the novels to-date.

Even for a superhero lover not involved in reading the H.E.R.O. novels, the numerous images of each character and their capabilities make for a
worthwhile set of information for game players and superhero fans in general.

This Illustrated Guide has information up through the sixth novel in H.E.R.O. (Paragon), although there are preview "bits" of what's to come in the next
several short stories and novels. It has no particular order in the series, and could be read prior to beginning the H.E.R.O. series, although you may find a few spoilers.

Buy (or download free preview) e-book for $4.99 US on Amazon (Kindle).
Paperback (5.5" x 8.5" in color) for $22.99 US on Createspace. (Not available at Amazon to allow me to bring the price this low....)

H.E.R.O. - Paragon

After a modeling shoot, Diva is called in to aid some researchers in an old mine. After the mine collapses, both heroes and
Gahranii scientists are enlisted to provide aid. Gahranii pirates appear in a bid to capture the Selestor, causing potentially fatal wounds to heroes and Gahranii alike.

Borgz, still bitter from his death at the hands of the Hordemaker, breaks the villain out of prison along with several other
powerful criminals. One of the villains joins with Atomizer, an ultra-powerful new super
and they seek out their own revenge against a former boss.

The Goth mutants become involved with Borgz as he captures several heroes, Lance's mother rushes to the city in an emergency, and an older hero is murdered.

The ongoing H.E.R.O. series continues in its sixth novel with H.E.R.O. - Paragon. Heroes from the previous novels continue making appearances, including
Psystar, Spartan, Black Tiger, Diva, Razorwing, Rayna, Hellshock and Gatecrasher.

Red-skinned orc-like creatures appear in Metrocity and assault the mutant-run Goth clubs in the city.

Greg Paffen, a new super mutated in the last meteor shower, is murdered by the creatures - but finds his mind transferred into a robot. He
seeks revenge as more attacks of the Hordes occur, and the Goth mutants as well as the heroes of Metrocity seek to find the cause behind the red brutes.

The prison system finds a place for Chrome, Diva meets her agent, a bridge is nearly destroyed and the Gahranii aliens continue their involvement in
the city throughout the story.

The ongoing H.E.R.O. series continues in its fifth novel with H.E.R.O. - Horde. Heroes from the previous novels continue making appearances, including
Psystar, Spartan, Black Tiger, Diva, Razorwing, Rayna and others.

The H.E.R.O. series continues with its fourth novel. Aliens come to the Sol system to research the umbra - or dark energy behind the powers of supers both on
Earth and elsewhere. Finding Earth unexpectedly populated, and after being attacked by another alien vessel, their starship is forced to land near Metrocity.
The scientists decide to investigate some of the superhuman activity in the city while repairs are made upon their starship.

Separately, researcher Cam Huntsbury leads a team in ongoing research on the meteorite involved in the mutation of humans into supers. An experiment goes awry,
ending in a disaster for the research firm Fargene.

A large number of supers in Metrocity become involved as the events occur, including Spartan, Psystar, Black Tiger, Diva, Gatecrasher, Razorwing and Rayna, among others.

H.E.R.O. - Dark Research is a full length novel of approximately 106,000 words.

The H.E.R.O. series continues after the events of H.E.R.O. - New Markets. This short novel follows the lives of three newly empowered Supers:

Diva: A former model, she is struggling to learn the ropes as a new member of the H.E.R.O. organization.

Chrome: As her life shatters from the devastating change into one of the most powerful brick superhumans in Metrocity,
she must learn how to cope with the terrifying realities of no longer being human.

Gravitix: His story unfolds as he makes a decision for or against the use of power for easy gain and evil.

Through their trials, a strange mutant uses her charm and wiles in an attempt to corrupt the new supers and aid her in freeing the bloodthirsty mutant
followers she lost in H.E.R.O. - Metamorphosis.

Following immediately after the events in H.E.R.O. - Metamorphosis, Lance, Stephanie and
Rael continue learning and developing their powers. A kidnapping leads them to become involved in the discovery of a new
black market involving the capture and sale of supers. Other heroes become involved as some are kidnapped, others attempt to find and free them, and yet others
stop crimes and a fire that occur along the way.

A failed attempt to rescue some of the victims leads the group to bring in more established heroes in the form of Gatecrasher and
Hellshock, and new hero Firebane
joins the team in a final bid to save the victims before they can be auctioned off.

H.E.R.O. - New Markets is a novel set in the H.E.R.O. universe. It explores the powers, life and interpersonal relationships in a way rarely seen in comic books
or movies. It is a full-length novel of approximately 125,800 words.

Buy (or download free preview) e-book for $2.99 US on Amazon (Kindle).
(Note: If you are a Nook, Kobo, or iTunes user and have issues finding the book, please email me and I'll help you out...)

H.E.R.O. – Metamorphosis follows the story of three people - Stephanie, Lance, and
Rael. They find they are changed into supers, along with others in Metrocity, when a
meteor shower unleashes radiation above the city. The friends discover that they become a psychic, a brick, and a mutant. They must cope with the changes to their
everyday life, friends and college as they discover the new powers at their disposal. In the midst of trying to become heroes and dealing with the changes to their
normal lives, a mutant villain captures many new supers in a bid to build an army for herself.

The H.E.R.O. series is a new supers universe of heroes and villains. As a novel-based story forum, it allows for deeper character development than that of a comic
book or graphic novel based story.

At the current point in the universe, supers have existed for about twenty five years. The H.E.R.O. organization – the Homeland Extraordinary Response Organization –
allows for a loosely operated environment for the heroes to operate without being vigilantes.

The common super types include Psychics, Blasters, Bricks and Mutants, although some crossover occurs in unusual individuals. Psychics generally gain mental powers, such
as telepathy, telekinesis, or emotional powers. Blasters have the ability to generate or control an element or waveform, such as light, electricity, or heat. Bricks are
the strongmen of the world, having massive strength and bodies that can sustain immense damage. Mutants appear less human in appearance due to the addition of blades,
tentacles, fins, wings, tails, and more to their bodies, and are between a brick and the others in physical strength.

H.E.R.O. - Metamorphosis is a full length novel with approximately 122,210 words.